Court releases Okhendovskyi on his own recognizance until Feb. 13. PHOTOS+VIDEO

Central Election Commission of Ukraine (CEC) Chairman Mykhailo Okhendovskyi arrived in Solomianskyi district court of Kyiv, which was to impose a pretrial restriction against him. After the hearing, the court released Okhendovskyi on his own recognizance.

In his speech, Okhendovskyi requested the court to reject the motion of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) to impose pretrial confinement with a right to post 1.29 million hryvnia (over $48,000) in bail against him as he was not going to leave the territory of Ukraine. He also said that he was going to work with the prosecution and that the case against him was trumped up.

Having heard the arguments of the parties, the judge retired to the chambers. Upon return, he decided to release Okhendovskyi on his own recognizance. The ruling is valid through Feb. 13, 2017.

Okhendovskyi before the court hearing

Okhendovskyi accompanied by guards arrives at the court hearing

Okhendovskyi delivers speech in the court

Photos by Oleh Bohachuk

As previously reported, Okhendovskyi appears on the Party of Regions' slush funds lists. In particular, Party of Regions members paid $1,500 for one of his official trips.

On May 31, Petro Poroshenko Bloc MP Serhii Leshchenko and journalists Anton Marchuk and Sevhil Musaieva-Borovyk published some of the documents proving the existence of Party of Regions' slush funds. According to the materials, the Party of Regions spent $66 million on political corruption over the second half of 2012.

Even earlier, ex-Deputy Head of the Security Service of Ukraine Viktor Trepak said he had passed the information about Party of Regions' slush funds to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU).

NABU Director Artem Sytnyk confirmed the acceptance of 841 files related to the slush funds and covering the period between 2008-2012. Sytnyk announced the start of identification of all persons indicated in the documents, adding the NABU would take measures to prevent their possible escape from the country. He noted the involvants will be charged under the "offering of undue profit" article of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.Источник: https://censor.net.ua/en/p420382

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